Yatta! 12th chapta! As for the Erik and Eva thing…I hope all y'all don't mind if I just totally forget about them and not finish their story…I mean, I don't think anybody will care, right? So, let's just say that Erik gets paid his oodles and oodles of cash and him and Eva live together happily ever after…in a brother/sister sort of relationship...ja.
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"…Fayt?" Albel whispered into the darkness, kneeling over the teenager's body. The swordsman gritted his teeth as he grabbed Fayt by the shoulders, lifting the younger man's body into his lap. The teenager's head fell back, the wound on his neck gaping open.
Furrowing his eyebrows, Albel lifted Fayt's head up, staring into the younger man's face that looked like a mask, it was so pale. Albel tried not to acknowledge the feeling of panic that had risen in him, but the pressure on his stomach and chest made it difficult to breathe. The swordsman took a deep breath and put a shaking hand to his forehead, noticing the sheen of sweat there.
"Fayt's dead," Albel thought, his breath catching in his throat when he thought those two words. Albel closed his eyes and let his chin fall to his chest, thinking back to the other two times when he had felt this panicked.
The first time had been when Albel's mother died. Albel had been ten years old when his mother started feeling ill, and had been eleven when she passed away. The second time had been when Albel's father had died protecting him, making the swordsman feel responsible for Glou Nox's death. Both times had been when someone Albel had loved died.
"Damn…" Albel thought as he opened his eyes to stare back into Fayt's face. Did the cold hearted swordsman really love Fayt? Albel felt his heart skip a beat and immediately knew the answer to that question, whether he chose to recognize it or not.
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Albel the Wicked opened his eyes as his memories vanished, a cold chill settling into the spaces that they had left behind. The swordsman groaned as he sat up, squinting as his eyes attempted to adjust to the new darkness that now surrounded him. Where was he? The last thing Albel could remember was sitting in the chapel with Fayt…
Albel's eyes widened as he fully remembered what had happened the past day. Fayt had died and now Albel was in the Underworld attempting to rescue him.
"Shit, this is ridiculous," the swordsman thought, standing up and putting his arm out to lean against the wall, "What did I expect? To find Fayt's soul among the millions of souls down here only to somehow find my way back to Elicoor?" Albel rubbed his temples as he thought of his seemingly impossible mission.
The dagger had opened the "portal" to the Underworld, allowing for him and Fayt to return to the land of the living. The dagger also made it easier for the spirit to return into the body once it found its way out of the Underworld. Albel's blood had outlined the portal, creating a sort of border to where the boundary between the land of the living and the land of the dead was broken. If Albel hadn't drew an outline for the portal, the two worlds would be set free of any boundaries, allowing the spirits to break free and wreak havoc upon Elicoor. Albel had only briefly considered this option. Now, as it were, only two problems stood in his way. The first problem was finding Fayt, the second was finding the portal again. Albel glanced around the tunnel, looking for some tell-tale circle that would indicate where the portal was. The swordsman had no such luck, however, and began to walk down the long tunnel to look for Fayt.
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Nel burst through the tavern door, searching frantically for the girl that Albel had mentioned in his letter. Several of the patrons were casting mean looks her way, but she paid them no heed. The red haired warrior walked to the front desk where a wrinkled old man was staring at her expectantly.
"May I help you?" he asked kindly, although he was wringing his hands in what looked to be nervousness.
"Yes. Is there a small girl who works here who I might be able to speak with?" Nel asked, inclining her head slightly so that red locks fell into her face.
"Ah, that girl left only days ago. She was working here, but left with her parents. I am sorry. Might I interest you in a drink?" the old man asked, smiling pleasantly.
"Nice try," Nel growled, moving around the edge of the desk to stand directly in front of the frail old man. She couldn't afford to waste any time. "I know that she was working here only last night, so I suggest that you show me to her if you intend to keep your life."
"Y…yes, miss, please, right this way," the old man stuttered, backing away from the infuriated woman to walk down a short hallway. Nel followed closely behind the old man to ensure that he wouldn't try to escape.
"Please, take your time," the old man grumbled as he opened the door to a small room. Nel nodded curtly before stepping into the room, glancing around and noticing how sparsely it was furnished. The young woman looked at the worn out bed and saw a young girl with blond hair staring at her with wide, brown eyes.
"W…what do you want?" she asked, her voice quivering with fear. Nel sighed and moved to stand at the edge of the bed.
"Last night a man came here who probably had a younger man with blue hair with him, correct?" Nel asked, trying to make her voice sound as calm as possible. The young girl simply nodded, still not able to make out what situation she was in. "Do you remember what room you gave to them?" the red haired warrior questioned, raising her eyebrows hopefully.
"Oh, yes. I do remember, but…" the girl trailed, looking to the door then back to Nel. "…but I'm not allowed to leave my room until the inn keeper says I can. I usually take care of the tavern after he falls asleep, and he doesn't want me to be tired should my time to watch the tavern come sooner than expected." Nel sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes as she began to think of different ways in which she could find Albel and Fayt. The young girl cleared her throat and began to speak again, this time rather tentatively, "Umm, I'm really not allowed to tell you this, since I don't know what sort of business you have with those two, but I put them in room six. They haven't left, at all actually, so they still should be there. It's strange, though. Usually the patrons come and go to shop or eat, but I haven't seen those two since the one man came last night. I should warn you that the other man, the one with blue hair, was unconscious. Erik, the other boy who works here, even said he looked dead…"
Nel thanked the young girl quickly before walking stiffly out of the room, walking down the hallway as she searched for room number six.
Nel counted up until she was at the door that led to Albel and Fayt. Taking a breath to steady herself, the young woman grasped the doorknob and turned it, expecting to hear the 'click' of the door opening. It was locked. Nel cursed under her breath as she tried the doorknob again, only to get the same results even though she hadn't really expected anything different.
"Shit…" she muttered, puttering her ear against the rough wood to see if she could hear anything in the room behind the door. The red haired warrior furrowed her brow when she heard what sounded like sobbing, followed by a loud, high pitched noise that almost knocked her back from the door.
"What the hell…?" Nel said, stepping away from the door.
"What in the hell was that noise!" the young woman heard the old man yell, then turned to see him running down the hallway towards her. "Damned customers, if you can't keep your voices down then get out of my tavern!" he continued, brushing past her to pound on the door.
"Do you have to key to this room?" Nel asked frantically, grabbing the old man by the shoulders and shaking him slightly.
"Wha…? Yes, yes of course I do. But that doesn't mean I'm giving it over to you!" the old man added when he saw the look on the young woman's face, fumbling at his waist for the ring of keys that was strapped there. The young woman wrenched it from his grasp and, before he could utter a word of protest, began searching the keys for the one labeled "6".
Nel found it and jammed it into the keyhole, turning it quickly and smiling to herself when she heard the lock turn. The red haired warrior grabbed the doorknob once again and turned it, using her weight to push the door open. Nel dropped the ring of keys when she saw what was on the other side of the door.
Albel and Fayt were lying in the middle of the room, a ring of what appeared to be blood surrounding them. The circle was filled with darkness, it seemed as if a hole had appeared in the middle of the room's floor, dropping for miles. This wasn't the only thing that sent a bitter chill running down her spine.
A small girl was sitting in the corner of the room, upon a bed that had been pushed there. She was sobbing into her hands, her small form shaking with wracking breaths. Nel's eyebrows creased as she walked towards the small girl, wondering who she could be.
"Are you alright?" the red warrior asked, an expression of concern coming over her face. The young girl snapped her head up, and Nel almost yelled out when she saw what had previously been hidden by the girls long, brown locks.
Blood stained the girls cheeks, acting as tears that ran from her eyes to her jaw. Her hands were stained in the blood tears, as was her dress. The girl saw her own hands and started screaming, her voice a shrill wail.
"W…no! I didn't kill him! I swear! Please, believe me!" her voice turned into a pleading whimper, but began to rise again when she saw Nel, "Help me! Please, help me! Help me!" the last word she drew out, then broke into sobs again, bending over as if she felt sick.
Nel watched, feeling her throat constrict as a feeling of horror rushed over her. This girl was already dead. It was only after the girl began sobbing again that Nel noticed the bright red line that wound around her neck. Somebody had strangled her.
The red haired warrior's breath came in short gasps when she noticed the young girl's sobs had ceased and had been replaced by a breathing that seemed choked. The brunette snapped her eyes over Nel once again, a terrified look creeping into her wide orbs.
"M…mommy?" she asked, crawling towards Nel on her hands and knees, "Mommy, I swear I didn't kill baby Nikki. It wasn't my fault. Mommy, I saw what happened. Why don't you believe me? Mommy? Mommy are you listening to me?" Nel put a hand to her mouth, trying not to look at the young girl.
"W…wait here. Mommy will be back in a few minutes," Nel said, deciding to play along with the spirit.
Nel turned around and searched for the second note that Albel had said he left her in the letter, walking over to the desk and finding a second piece of parchment there. It contained instructions on what to do in order to ensure that Albel and Fayt would be able to return. The red haired woman glanced to the side when she heard the young girl begin to hum to herself a tune that she had probably learned from her mother. Nel looked back to the note that also explained the circle of blood and the dagger that was stabbed into the floor in between Fayt and Albel. Apparently the circle acted as a portal between the two worlds, and the young girl had somehow managed to stumble through it without realizing what had happened. She didn't know she was dead.
Nel turned around and walked back to the bed, sitting down on it next to the young girl. The girl smiled happily at her "mom" and moved to make room for Nel. The red haired warrior looked into the young girl's eyes and tried to figure out what she should do.
"It's time for bed, sweetie," Nel said, patting the young spirit on the head, who was surprisingly solid.
"Okay mommy. Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked, her eyes drooping lazily.
"Yes, of course," Nel replied, smiling comfortingly as she watched the young girl settle herself on the bed.
"Goodnight mommy," the girl murmured, her eyelids falling shut.
"…goodnight," Nel replied, trying not to think about the strangeness of this situation.
Once the girl was breathing steadily, Nel turned back to the two corpses and kneeled next to Fayt, remembering what Albel had said in the instructions. The red haired woman put her hand over Fayt's neck and wiped some blood away from the large gash. She then wiped the blood over Albel's blood, tracing her hand over the dark brown line until fresh blood had covered half of the circle. If Albel was right, this would make sure that Fayt would be able to get out of the Underworld, and make it easier for him to reenter his body.
Nel then began the daunting task of healing their bodies, which was obviously needed in order for them to live again. Nel didn't claim to be the best healer around, and knew that the only reason Albel had asked for her was because anyone who hadn't known the two men wouldn't have healed them, thinking that there was no way for them to come back to life, since they were quite obviously dead. Since Nel hadn't bothered to hone her healing skills to their finest, the task of healing two already dead bodies would be taxing on her. She not only had to heal their physical wounds, but also had to get their hearts pumping again. Their bodies had to be living in order for their spirits to reenter their bodies, and to be able to stay there. If the bodies were dead and Albel and Fayt tried to resume their bodies, their spirits would be taken back to the Underworld, since they were technically dead.
Nel sat cross legged on the floor and reached into the pouch that was strapped around her waist, producing several potions that would help her restore some of the magic that would be used during healing. Hopefully all would go well and she would be able to get their hearts pumping again. Once their hearts were beating, Nel's mission would be complete, as the hearts would continue to beat without her aid. Well, at least that's what Albel said…
Nel inhaled deeply and began to heal them, blue light swirling around their bodies as the large, gaping wound on Fayt's neck began to knit together and as the deep cuts on Albel's wrists began to close. Nel watched with satisfaction as the wounds healed, then noticed the strange angle that Fayt's leg was jutting out at. It was obviously broken, and Nel grimaced when she realized she wouldn't be able to heal it until she knew she had enough strength to get their hearts pumping.
The red haired woman took one of the potions and drank it, the relatively small task of healing them taking most of her power. This would be tougher than she thought…
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Albel raised an eyebrow when he found himself in a large room covered with paintings. He had seen paintings that were similar to the ones in this room when he was walking down the tunnel, but hadn't thought anything of them. Now, however, he was somewhat intrigued as to what they could be.
Albel walked briskly to one of the walls, closely examining the paintings. Every painting was of a different person, no two were the same. Albel pursed his lips and continued to scan the wall, noticing how every painting was of death.
"I wonder if I'm painted somewhere…" Albel thought morbidly, grinning wickedly to himself as he continued to the other side of the room where he had noticed another tunnel earlier.
Once Albel reached the tunnel, he began to walk down it, scanning the walls as he went by. Albel was so engrossed in the paintings that he almost didn't see the spirit running towards him, his eyes wide with fright. Albel dodged out of the way in time to avoid a collision, and heard as the man brushed past him a loud rumble emanating throughout the walls, then all was silent. Albel turned around quickly to ask what the noise had been, but found to his annoyance that the spirit had continued to run, and was now almost out of hearing distance.
"Bastard…" Albel growled, turning back around to continue walking down the tunnel.
Before he could get too far, however, another spirit came running towards him, this one female. Albel didn't bother dodging this spirit, but instead caught her by the arm as she attempted to push past him. The spirit turned to stare at him, her pupils small, black dots in the center of blue irises. Albel opened his mouth to ask what the noise had been, but was cut off by the female spirit.
"Are you crazy?" she snapped, glancing back down the tunnel as if she expected death to come running down it with a legion of soldiers at any second, "He's gone mad! He'll kill everyone, you included!" she hissed, wrenching her arm free of the swordsman's grasp.
Albel snorted and was about to ask how they could be killed, since they were already dead, but stopped when he heard the deep rumbling again. The silence after the noise was worse than the sound itself. The silence seemed…unnatural. Albel shrugged to himself and continued walking, deciding to see for himself just who or what had the power to kill someone who was already dead.
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Nel turned away from the bed, walking towards the two corpses and leaving the young spirit to battle her dreams of the past. The young girl whimpered slightly, pulling her knees to her chest as she slipped further and further into her dream-like trance…
The girl's name had been Shimeru. Her mother, Hakari Eichi, had married a man named Aritomo Nox, a man held in high regards in the kingdom of Airyglyph. Aritomo had been a diplomat, a strange contrast to his brother, Glou, who had taken up the sword to defend his country through battle.
Shimeru had been the illegitimate child of a man her mother barely known. Her real father had been a young traveler from the land of Aquaria. Shimeru's mother had only told her that he had been a runologist and that he had been especially skillful in the arts of healing. Shimeru didn't know why her mother had told her this, since Hakari was usually mean to her daughter by telling her day after day how she had been a mistake and how she had made problems for Hakari and Aritomo. Mostly Shimeru wished she hadn't been born, thinking that she was the source of all of the family's problems.
The real problem, however, had been with Hakari Eichi. She had been ill for quite some time, and no matter how hard she and Aritomo tried, they couldn't have a child of their own. The only reason they kept Shimeru was because they didn't want to look bad by sending their only child to fend for herself. The only reason they kept Shimeru was for appearances.
When Shimeru had turned 7, she noticed a slight change in how she felt. She could feel something inside of her that she knew nobody else had. Shimeru began experimenting with Runology, teaching herself the basics of healing and picking locks. The young girl had found to her delight that she was especially skilled when it came to healing, just like her real father.
The young girl on the bed shivered as a cold sweat broke out on her brow. Shimeru gathered the blankets around her shoulders tightly, knowing what she would dream of next…
That day had been the day when everything started to go wrong. Shimeru remembered her mother and father yelling at each other. Her mother was scared, her father was scared, also, but not in the same way. Hakari was telling Aritomo about her sister who had fallen ill. Hakari's sister had married Glou, Aritomo's brother. Shimeru's aunt had the same illness that had plagued her mother for many years. The only difference between the two cases was that Hakari's sister was dying more quickly than Hakari.
Shimeru had known for a long time that her mother was dying. Hakari liked to taunt Shimeru when things were bad, asking Shimeru how she would live when her mother wasn't there to take care of her. Shimeru knew her mother was dying, and yet it didn't bother her.
Shimeru remembered that day vividly, because that was the day when Shimeru found out that she had a cousin who lived close by. Aritomo had yelled something about a boy named Albel, asking what he would do once his mother died. He was only ten years old. That was when Hakari had broken into sobs, telling Aritomo that Albel would die too. Any child that the females of the Eichi family produced were doomed to carry the same illness that their mothers had. That meant Shimeru had the disease as well.
Nobody knew the cure to this terrible illness. Nobody knew its origins. Nobody knew when it would take the life of the person infected with it. It might be at the moment before their natural death, or it might be at the moment of birth.
Hakari had ceased her crying then, and had turned to Aritomo, whispering something in his ear. Aritomo had turned around and punched his wife, his knuckles cracking against her jaw bone. Shimeru had cried out and shut her eyes tightly, trying not to imagine what was happening in the room where her mother and father were. Aritomo had begun to laugh, his voice cold and icy.
"Oh, so now you're pregnant," he had rasped, rubbing his knuckles vigorously, "I see. So you tell me only after your pregnant that my heir will be infected with the same god damn disease that rots inside of you!" Aritomo had yelled the last sentence, then began to walk out of the room, his fingers tangled in his hair as he tried to make sense of all that had happened in his seemingly perfect life.
Shimeru had smiled. Her life was falling apart around her and she had smiled. Shimeru knew that she would be able to find a way to cure this disease. Maybe, if she did that, her mother would finally look upon her with something other than disdain in her eyes.
Once Shimeru had made up her mind about finding a way, using her powers, to cure the illness, she locked herself away in her room for weeks, only coming out to eat and drink. She barely slept, the only thing running through her mind a determined resolve to save the cousin she hadn't met. Yes, she had wanted to impress her mother, but she distinctly remembered wanting to save the life of Albel.
Finally, after months of working with runology and symbology, the now eight year old thought she knew the cure to the disease. Shimeru had walked out of her room with a triumphant grin on her face, barely able to contain the joy she felt at being useful for once.
She had wanted to run straight away to her aunt's house to heal her cousin, but her mother had stood in her way, sweat falling from her forehead as she stood over the small child.
"It was you, wasn't it?" she had said, a distraught look drawing her face down, making it look hollow, "You killed Nikki, didn't you? It's that man who tainted your blood. You're different. You used his powers to kill your brother!" she had accused, pointing a shaking finger at her only daughter.
"Mommy…what? I don't understand…" the flabbergasted child had stammered, backing up in an attempt to get away from her mother.
"Of course you don't, dear," Hakari soothed, bending down to embrace the trembling girl, "Of course you don't…"
Shimeru gasped when she felt her mother's cold fingers wrap around her neck, then began to cry when her mother picked her up and took her into the other room.
Blood was staining the table that was in the middle of the room, and on the table was an infant. Shimeru noticed that the baby wasn't moving.
"Mommy! Is that my brother? Did you have the baby?" Shimeru had asked excitedly, mistaking the still pink baby as alive. Hakari had grabbed a fistful of Shimeru's hair in reply, dragging her towards the small corpse.
"Yes, he was your brother! He was your brother until you killed him!" Hakari had wailed, jerking the small girl's head back and forth by her hair. Shimeru began screaming, screaming for her father, for her cousin…anybody that might come to aid her. Nobody came to save her from her mother's fists as the crazed woman began to hit her child. Nobody came to save her from her mother's accusations that Shimeru had killed the baby. Nobody came to save her from the rope that her mother wound around her neck. Nobody came to watch as a mother strangled her child.
The small girl in the bed sat up, more blood tears spilling down her cheeks. Shimeru pulled her knees to her chest and wept quietly, noticing the woman who she had previously thought her mother attempting to heal two bodies. Shimeru crawled quietly out of the bed and tip-toed over to stand on the opposite side of the circle in which the bodies lay. The small spirit noticed that one of the men looked remarkably like her mother, his facial features soft when he slept, but she was sure they were harsh when awake. Shimeru knew why she had stumbled through this strange portal and had been forced to relive the last few months of her life.
Kneeling down next to Albel, Shimeru stretched her hands out and began to heal the cousin she was never able to meet.
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A/N: Sorry to end on the solemn note, but if this chapter got any bigger I think I might explode! There's some of what was running through Albel's head at the moment…I know some of you requested that I write it…so I did, just for you! Chapter 13 comin' up!